How-To avoid to godmode or metagame

GODMODING, also known as GODMODDING – you’ll hear this term a lot. It is probably the most frequent complaint among roleplayers, and what is meant by it is there in the word. There are two basic types of Godmod(e):

**FIRST – It is to PLAY GOD in MODIFYING another’s game.

Every thing your character wants to do to another character has to be avoidable. You threaten to do it, you offer to do it, you attempt to do it. The other player accepts the action and plays the consequence, or they act to avoid it. You must NOT draw your knife and stick it into George’s belly, causing blood to pour from the wound. You can only draw your knife and lunge towards George, aiming for his belly. Only George can decide whether you make contact, or whether he is able to step aside, whether he bleeds and dies, or whether it is just a scratch.

This applies to EVERY type of action. You can offer a hug, but not grab someone and hug them. You can aim a slap at them, but not decide if it makes contact. Yes, in real life these things would happen too quickly to avoid, but rp is different. When you are familiar and comfortable with certain players, the rules may relax as you discover each other’s limits. But we all have different backgrounds and different sensitivities, and a simple action, like a hug or a playful smack on the behind, can be highly offensive to some, if the player is not given the opportunity to dodge or reject it.

**SECOND – It is to PLAY in GOD MODE, in that your character is all-powerful, and invincible.

If your character is very powerful, you should have matching weaknesses, to maintain balance. If your power is unavoidable, and there is no chance or point in fighting back; or if you are invulnerable and every stroke in battle with you only ends in failure, you are in GOD MODE.

Someone who is in one place and then is mystically in another without travelling…
Someone who claims to have completed actions which were not played out in their posts…
Someone who claims that things have happened that never actually took place…
Someone who invents a situation without roleplaying it…
Someone ignoring any discomfort, any attack…
Someone who has every thinkable skill, when ever needed….
Someone who has every thing in their pocket, getting out of every situation unharmed…
…all these are powergamers in GodMode. Others quickly realize they are no fun to play with.

METAGAMING

Metagaming is using out-of-character knowledge IN character.

Out of character knowledge is all that you know as a player, that your character could not know.

If you use such information you are METAGAMING, or commonly better known as: CHEATING

Sometimes people may offer information in, for example, floating text, such as ‘smells of flowers’ or ‘walking with a limp’. Such information may be used, as it is describing something which can be seen, heard, smelled, or otherwise detected naturally.

Always ask yourself: Does my CHARACTER know this, or do only I, the PLAYER, know?

Using the Alts option to gain unfair advantage is considered METAGAMING, or commonly better known as: CHEATING.

If you have alts you have to be especially careful about metagaming. This is why alts often need to be approved and known by the sim management. It can be confusing to try to remember which character knows what, and metagaming may be particularly tempting if you have two characters in different faction groups.